ESPN Star Sports launches in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan--Sports programming broadcaster ESPN Star Sports has launched its fifth service in Asia, this time a pay channel dedicated to the Taiwanese market.

A desire to customize, and positive feedback from viewers, drove the broadcaster to introduce ESPN Taiwan, a Mandarin-language service that is based on local viewing habits and sports preferences.

"Viewers get to see more of what they want, affiliates are better able to sell our channel, advertisers can target their audience more efficiently, eliminating waste," says Simon Yu, senior VP international sales and marketing at Hong Kong-based ESPN Star Sports.

Mr. Yu adds that a dedicated feed enables the broadcaster's sales efforts to comply with local advertising laws and restrictions.

Taiwan is no stranger to ESPN, however. Since ESPN's launch in the region five years ago, the channel has racked up a viewership of 99.3% of all cabled homes, or 4 million homes, according to the Consumer Foundation in the island nation's capital of Taipei. It also ranks as one of the top-ten cable channels in Taiwan.